Dare
by Ell Michelle
Summary: There was a story about the barn. Supposedly, it was haunted. What if the stories were true?


Dare

On the outskirts of town was an old barn, almost completely obscured by ivy. There were no houses around the barn, no human habitation anywhere nearby. Perhaps it was because of this that the legend was centered there.

The story started with a cheerleader. She was young, pretty, and head-over-heels in love, they said. However her father didn't approve of the boy she loved, and so during their senior year of high school, they decided to run off together.

He told her to meet him at the old barn, according to the story. He waited for her the next night, and for three nights afterward, but she never came.

That was when the stories began, because no one ever saw them alive again. His body was found a week later, almost unrecognizable beneath the gashes covering his body. The strangest part—the part that baffled the authorities and captured the imaginations of the children—was that there was no blood. There was no blood on the body and none in the body. Thus, the legend—the legend of the _thing_ that haunted the barn—was born.

Brandon stood outside the old, weathered building and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Why in the world did I take that bet? He groaned inwardly.

It was a week before Halloween, so his friends—thinking that they would be funny—had dared him to go into the barn and stay for ten minutes. No one had gone near the place for years because of the half-formed fears that lurked in the back of their minds. However, against his better judgment, he had agreed—he wouldn't be seen as "chicken."

Yet here he was, standing there with his six year old sister as his moral support. Oh yeah, I'm not chicken, he thought sarcastically.

Looking down at Amy, he felt awful. He had been so scared, he had to bring his little sister. What if she got hurt? He had been an idiot. She looked up at him so trustingly, no fear behind those wide blue eyes. Brandon felt ashamed of himself.

"Hey, Amy, you ready to go inside?" he asked gently. She smiled up at him and nodded.

Brandon put his hand on the knob and slowly pushed the door open. Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip on Amy's hand and walked inside.

At first, he couldn't see a thing. As his eyes adjusted, he began to see various rusty bits of metal that could have been anything, and cobwebs. Lots and lots of cobwebs. He thought he heard a _swish_, but he dismissed it as his imagination.

He had let go of Amy once they had walked in. Hearing the _swish_ again, Brandon reached out for his sister's hand—and found nothing.

He whirled around. "Amy!" he yelled frantically, searching in the dark corners. He almost tripped over a long, rusty piece of metal with a jagged edge. The sharp metal ripped through his jeans easily. He sucked in his breath as he felt the blood trickling down his leg. He ran through the rooms, yelling his sister's name. As he ran back to the front room, he fell over something. Looking down, he realized that the object he had tripped over was his sister's favorite teddy bear—the one she had been carrying with her when he last saw her. Brandon clutched it to his face and slowly stood.

He turned back to face the door, and stiffened. There was someone coming towards him.

Then, Brandon knew he must be dreaming. There was no way that the girl who was slowly making her way to him was real.

She was beautiful, perfect in every way. Her long, black hair fell in waves over her slim shoulders and contrasted sharply with her deathly pale skin. She moved with an ethereal grace—it looked like she was dancing. He realized that he knew who she was—the cheerleader who was said to haunt the old barn. The old stories had described her perfectly.

And then his heart stopped, because his eyes had returned to her face. Her gorgeous face, with the perfectly formed features…and her eyes. Her blood-red eyes that were looking him over appraisingly. She smiled then, almost as if she could hear his heart speeding up, trying to burst out of his chest. Her teeth glistened, and the dream became a nightmare.

"Where is Amy?" He managed to whisper hoarsely.

The gorgeous girl smiled again and said, "I don't think you need to worry about that anymore."

Suddenly, she was standing right next to him…and Brandon knew no more.

_**Sorry about posting this again. I have revised it and fixed a few things. And please, if you read this, review! I'm getting kind of desperate here. I got it! A big bucketful of Halloween candy to anyone who reviews (even if it's a flame--cause that means someone is reading!)**_


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